Advertisement

10 Classical Music Events To Catch In March

Ben Bliss will play the lead in Boston Lyric Opera's production of Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress." (Courtesy Liza Voll/BLO)
Ben Bliss will play the lead in Boston Lyric Opera's production of Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress." (Courtesy Liza Voll/BLO)

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is out of town — first to Carnegie Hall, then Toronto and Montreal — but there's still plenty in town to give Andris Nelsons fans a classical music fix.

Here’s a look at some of those concerts — the operative word being "some." It’s a busy month. (The very first weekend has at least a dozen concerts worth attention.)

David Bowie's "Blackstar," performed by Ambient Orchestra, with Maya Beiser | MIT Kresge Auditorium | March 3

MIT professor Evan Ziporyn conducts a rehearsal of his arrangement of David Bowie's "Blackstar." (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
MIT professor Evan Ziporyn conducts a rehearsal of his arrangement of David Bowie's "Blackstar." (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

David Bowie left us with a final album — "Blackstar" — before he died last January. Conductor/composer Evan Ziporyn has arranged the work for orchestra, and invited adventurous cellist Maya Beiser to come help out. During the performance, MIT professor, founder of Harmonix and musician Eran Egozy's new app NoteStream will send lyrics, notes and extras to the audience's phones in real time.


"Spring String Spectacular," performed by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms Society | Faneuil Hall | March 5

Violist Kim Kashkashian. (Courtesy Bach, Beethoven and Brahms Society)
Violist Kim Kashkashian. (Courtesy Bach, Beethoven and Brahms Society)

Bach, Beethoven and Brahms Society launched last year from the ashes of the Boston Classical Orchestra, and now Steven Lipsitt and ensemble are mounting a world premiere. If you write a viola concerto, you want Kim Kashkashian to play it. And that’s what composer Howard Frazin got. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Tchaikovsky Serenade round out the program.


"The Mystery Sonatas," performed by Boston Baroque | Jordan Hall | March 10

The Biber Mystery Sonatas are a mystery — and can be a nightmare, for performers. Christina Day Martinson, concertmaster of Boston Baroque, takes on the entire scordatura lot of them. She’ll need six different violins to interpret the 15 different tunings, and a small army of technicians. It’s a physical marvel, and the music has otherworldly appeal.


Longwood Symphony Orchestra | Jordan Hall | March 11

Pianist Peter Serkin. (Courtesy Regina Touhey Serkin)
Pianist Peter Serkin. (Courtesy Regina Touhey Serkin)

Peter Serkin has never followed the tried-and-true path of the international soloist. Certainly he’s performed with the top orchestras in the world — he is a Serkin after all — but he’s not above sitting in with regional ensembles either, championing unusual works, or switching keyboards for that matter. Here he joins the Longwood Symphony — you know, the concertizing doctors — with Anna Polonsky, for performances of two Bach harpsichord concertos.


Stravinsky’s "The Rake’s Progress," performed by Boston Lyric Opera | Cutler Majestic Theatre | March 12-19

Ben Bliss and Kevin Burdette rehearse for Boston Lyric Opera's production of "The Rake's Progress." (Courtesy Liza Voll/BLO)
Ben Bliss and Kevin Burdette rehearse for Boston Lyric Opera's production of "The Rake's Progress." (Courtesy Liza Voll/BLO)

The BLO sings its way through various venues this season, in search of a home. Next stop: the Cutler, with Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress.” This opera has it all: brothels, gambling, deals with the devil, bad marriages, even worse business ventures, madness. What’s not to like? Top-notch cast, with a cameo by Jane Eaglen. Staged by A.R.T.’s Allegra Libonati, it should look great too.


Strauss’ "Ariadne auf Naxos," performed by Lowell House Opera | Harvard’s Lowell House | March 21-April 1

Was “Ariadne auf Naxos” the first meta-opera? If not the first, it certainly is meta. The composer’s plans change even as the opera progresses, and in this update, improv actors, up-tight singers and chaos all mix together to look up at high-brow entertainment and down at the low. Edward Jones directs Strauss’ parody, which parodies Harvard house culture as well in this update.


Celebrity Series’ "Stave Sessions" | Berklee College | March 21-24

A performance during last year's Stave Sessions. (Courtesy Celebrity Series of Boston)
A performance during last year's Stave Sessions. (Courtesy Celebrity Series of Boston)

The Stave Sessions have made a mark already in two seasons. The first iterations of the week-long alternate performance showcases have brought Shara Worden, Rooremful of Teeth, Gabriel Kahane and others to town. This year: yMusic, Melissa Aldana, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and TIGUE and Innov Gnawa come to the striking multi-purpose space at Berklee College. Haven’t heard of them? That’s the point.


Berlioz, Pintscher and Beethoven, performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra, with cellist Alisa Weilerstein | Symphony Hall | March 23-25

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein. (Courtesy Decca Harald Hoffman/BSO)
Cellist Alisa Weilerstein. (Courtesy Decca Harald Hoffman/BSO)

The BSO, fresh off announcing details of its collaboration with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, continues its international ways. In Europe, German composer Matthias Pintscher is the golden boy. He's the director of Ensemble Intercontemporain, first resident composer at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, conductor of the Lucerne Festival. His frequent association with international star Weilerstein (who started right here in Boston, at New England Conservatory) continues with this premiere, “un despertar.” It joins Berlioz’ “Le Corsaire” overture and Beethoven’s "Pastoral" symphony on this program. François-Xavier Roth conducts.


"Project Fusion: Music in Flight," performed by Juventas New Music Ensemble | Oberon | March 22-23

Juventas’ director Lidiya Yankovskaya and circus arts director Alexis Hedrick team up for a cabaret evening with aerialists, puppets, jugglers, robotics, performance art and music. Look up, look around, look behind you and listen — it will be everywhere.


"Tyaphaka," performed by Castle of our Skins | Hibernian Hall, Roxbury | March 24

Nicholas Hlobo's "Tyaphaka" made of rubber, ribbon, hosepipe and packaging material. (Courtesy Stevenson Cape Town and Johannesburg)
Nicholas Hlobo's "Tyaphaka" made of rubber, ribbon, hosepipe and packaging material. (Courtesy Stevenson Cape Town and Johannesburg)

Castle of our Skins (the name comes from a Nikki Giovanni poem) "celebrates Black artistry through music." The far-ranging concert centered around Nicholas Hlobo’s installation “Tyaphaka” includes premieres by Clifton Ingram, a quartet by Florence Price (“Five Folksongs in Counterpoint”) and “Static Dance,” based on African masks, by Pang Chun-ting. Dance interpretations, lectures and artworks complement the music.

Keith Powers Classical Music Writer
Keith Powers is a classical music critic for The ARTery.

More…

Advertisement

More from WBUR

Listen Live
Close